


coerced and corrupted

by Iverna



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Jewel Queen, ouat AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2016-10-23
Packaged: 2018-08-24 07:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8362306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iverna/pseuds/Iverna
Summary: How Liam Jones could have come to work for Regina Mills, just before the curse; mostly an excuse to write pirate!Liam being snarky with Will and Regina. (NOT the start of a multi-chapter. I mean it this time. It’s just a little idea I had and wanted to explore.)





	

“This,” Liam Jones hissed as he dusted himself off and got to his feet, “was a terrible plan.”

“Not my fault, mate.” Will Scarlet looked around as he, too, brushed straw off his clothes. “At least we made it.”

“Aye, we made it,” Liam repeated. The cart they’d hidden on had left them in a corner off the main castle courtyard, which was bustling with activity. Liam’s mind was racing, trying to come up with an exit strategy while still berating himself for listening to Will Scarlet. “We made it all the way into the heart of the castle. Which was the last place we wanted to go.”

“Better than being caught with contraband,” Will pointed out reasonably.

“If they impound my ship…” Liam swallowed down the rest of his sentence before it could become a threat. The thought of his ship in royal hands chafed, but if they had taken her, he’d simply have to take her back. Nothing he hadn’t done before.

He tore his mind back to the situation at hand. “Now what?”

“Now all we have to do is look like we belong.”

“One problem with that,” Liam ground out. “We _don’t_ look like we belong.”

“Sure we do.” Will gave him an appraising look. “You look plenty mean enough to be one of the queen’s men.”

Liam glared at him.

“Fine. Look, I’ve done this before. Just grab some of the stuff from the cart and look lost, they’ll tell us where to leave it. All we have to do is hang about until nightfall, then sneak out.”

“Is that all?” Liam said acidly.

“Easy as pie,” Will assured him. “Come on.”

Liam didn’t like it. Will could talk a good game, but everyone knew that the queen kept prisoners, and the castle was accordingly well-guarded. Without someone to recognise them at the gates, or any way to prove their identity, they’d never make it out.

Still, he’d been in worse situations. If push came to shove, there was always the brute force option. The queen’s guards were good, but Liam had several centuries of practice on them.

“Very well, then,” he said. “Just keep your mouth shut. We don’t want to attract any attention.”

They made it almost an hour, carrying cargo into the castle and acting the part of hired help without raising suspicion. Liam was just emerging from a side door when Will grabbed his arm.

“Looks like they’re bringing in a prisoner. That might work as a distrac—” He cut off abruptly, making a strangled sound in his throat.

Liam gave him a worried look. “What?”

Will’s eyes were wide, but it took him a moment to find his voice. “That’s Marian!”

“What?”

“Marian,” Will repeated. “Robin’s wife. Got to be. Look.”

Liam narrowed his eyes. The prisoner was all the way over at the other end of the courtyard, her hands bound and her head bowed, but he thought she looked familiar. “Bloody hell.”

“We have to help her.”

Liam seized Will’s arm before the young man could start forward. “No way. No. Think for a moment. The minute you storm over there in a fit of heroics is the minute you die.”

“We can’t let them—”

“What?” Liam demanded. “Take her prisoner? They already have.”

“They’ll _kill_ her,” Will said.

Liam felt his jaw clench as, across the yard, Marian was shoved towards a door and disappeared. “Aye. So let’s lie low, seize our chance to get out of here, and tell Robin she’s here. In fact, he’s probably already aware and on his way.”

“And what if he’s not?” Will demanded. “By the time we get out and all, she might be dead already.”

“There’s nothing we can do about that.”

“Yes, there is,” Will insisted. “We take her with us.”

“Oh, no. I am not marching down into the bloody dungeons, my lad.”

Will gave him an incredulous look. “You’d leave an innocent woman to die? Where’s your sense of honour?”

Liam glowered at him. “Don’t talk to me of honour.”

Will flinched back, but he wasn’t one to flounder for long. “How about money, then? Robin will pay you, and gladly.”

There’d been a time, once, when Liam would have been tempted to punch a man for suggesting he might take payment for saving someone’s life. He’d been a man of honour, back then, giving his all for king and country and the glory of it all.

Not anymore. Not in a long time. His king had betrayed him, glory and honour had led to nothing but pain and a return to the hated yoke of servitude.

But still, his conscience stirred. Robin Hood was an honourable man. Marian was an honourable woman. He knew what they would do if it were him in that dungeon, even though he’d never been overly kind to either of them.

“He’d better,” Liam grumbled. “All right. But I insist on a better plan this time.”

Will grinned. “Not to worry, mate.”

“Stop saying that.”

Will was still grinning when a shadow fell over him from behind, and a voice demanded, “Who are you?”

 

*   *   *

 

“We didn’t do nothing!” Will was insisting, playing the innocent and slightly offended bystander to perfection. “Come on, have a heart, mate. Let us go.”

“Save it,” the guard said. His eyes were hidden by his helmet, but he didn’t look impressed. From the way the other guard looked to him and did his bidding, Liam thought that he was someone of rank. But it was equally clear that while he might be in charge down here, someone else was in charge of him. Just a soldier, doing his duty. Serving his queen. “You didn’t look very innocent to me.”

“It’s not nice to judge,” Will said. “I told you, we’re just doing our job, bringing supplies for the—”

“Loitering and trespassing and discussing _plans_ ,” the guard cut him off.

Liam was silent, glaring at nothing as he was pushed along the dirty, uneven floor of the castle’s underbelly. He didn’t know what the charges would be, if they bothered with any at all; loitering in the queen’s castle and looking suspicious was probably reason enough for a hanging. Queen Regina did not have a reputation for understanding or mercy.

Either way, it was probably a bad idea to go along with whatever they had planned.

Will was walking along behind him. Liam swaggered a little more, letting his hand swing back and pushing his fingers and thumb together a few times. _Keep talking._

“Plans for getting back home, and getting paid!” Will sounded indignant. “See, we had some trouble on the way in. My fault, really. I thought it was a shortcut, and it was, but the problem with shortcuts is they’re not always safe. Long story short, we ran into some highwaymen. Real savage types, you know. Call themselves the Merry Men, which is funny considering they didn’t _look_ very—”

And with the guards’ attention hopefully mostly on Will, Liam moved.

He drove his elbow into the guard’s stomach, pivoting out of reach of the man’s sword in the same motion. As the man doubled over, Liam grabbed the dagger from his belt and turned just in time to meet the other guard as he yelled and swung his sword.

Liam caught the blow, but dropped the dagger as the sword slid across it. He ducked out of the way, and Will barrelled into the guard from the side. They both went down. Liam followed, stepping on the guard’s sword and bending to retrieve it from his grasp.

A few heartbeats later, it was over, one guard dead and the other unconscious.

Will gave Liam an accusing look. “What was that about a better plan?”

“Someone will have heard that,” Liam said, hefting the appropriated sword in his hand. “Any bright ideas?”

“Marian,” Will said, and took off running in the direction they’d been heading before.

Liam cursed, and ran after him.

The cells were down a short flight of stairs. At the bottom, they ran into another guard; Will dodged him expertly, tripping him as he went, and Liam drove the borrowed sword through his chest.

Will kept running, disappearing around a corner, and Liam heard a relieved, “Marian!”

By the time Liam arrived, Will was already on one knee by the door, fiddling with the lock. Marian was standing behind the bars, her expression caught between worry and relief. Liam hurried over and dangled the guard’s keys beside his head. “Try these.”

Will glared at him, but he took the keys, and moments later the lock clicked open. Marian stumbled out. She looked a little more dishevelled than the last time Liam had seen her, her dark hair tangled and matted around her face. She was dressed simply in a shift dress and wine red cloak, and her dark eyes were wide. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank him yet,” Liam growled. “Scarlet, this is all very noble, but in case you hadn’t noticed, we’re now in the exact place I was hoping not to end up.”

“But not _in_ the cells, though, mate,” Will said with a grin. “That’s a start.”

“The _plan_ , Scarlet.”

“Well—” Will floundered.

“So you charged in here to pick up another fugitive, and now we’re stuck deeper in the castle with one more piece of baggage, does that about sum it up?”

“Well—”

“Brilliant,” Liam said.

“Shut up, Jones,” Marian said sharply. “I’m not dead weight, thank you very much. Now stop complaining and follow me.”

She marched past them both, turning a little impatiently to look over her shoulder. “Well, come on.”

Liam looked at Will. Will shrugged. “She knows the castle a little,” he said, and followed Marian.

“Oh, _good_ ,” Liam said. “I feel so much better.”

Marian stooped to pick up the dead guard’s sword before heading for the stairs. Liam stepped over the body, trying to ignore the twist of guilt in his gut. Just a soldier, doing his duty…

Stupid, the lot of them.

He caught up to Will and Marian, who for a miracle did seem to know where she was going. They made it out of the dungeons and back into brighter hallways, Marian still leading the way. As they came up on another hallway, Marian waved them back, against the wall. Liam pushed up next to Will, and listened.

“… something going on in the dungeons,” a man’s voice was saying from the hallway ahead. “Don’t let anyone leave.”

“Stables are that way,” Marian whispered, pointing to the left, where the voices seemed to be coming from. “That’s our only chance.”

“Can’t get past that lot,” Will muttered back.

And then there were footsteps, and Liam knew that they were out of time. “Wait here,” he whispered fiercely, gripping his sword as he moved past them both. “Count to five, then go. Don’t wait for me.”

“Jones—” Will began.

“Don’t,” Liam repeated. “I’ll be fine. Trust me. Just go.”

He didn’t wait for them to argue, instead leaping out into the hallway ahead. Three guards stood to his left, looking surprised. Liam gave a yell, and backed away from them, breaking into a run as he headed right. There was shouting behind him, and the sound of booted feet on stone as the guards gave chase.

 

*   *   *

 

Regina glared at the unfortunate guard, trying to reign in the rising flood of anger. The man was not shaking, but it looked to be a close thing. “Escaped?” she repeated carefully. “Escaped? People don’t just escape from my castle.”

“She had help,” the guard said. “We’re not sure exactly what happened or how they got in, but there were two men—”

“I don’t care how many men there were,” Regina snapped. “I want to know why they aren’t chained up in my dungeon along with that stupid peasant woman.”

“I don’t think she was just a peasant woman, Your Majesty,” the guard ventured. “She took out at least two guards.”

Regina gritted her teeth. “Fine. Whatever. Where’s the man you captured? I want to see him.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Right away.” The guard bowed, looking cautiously relieved, and turned. “Bring in the prisoner!”

She sat on her throne, examining her nails, when the guards brought in the captain who had dared defy her.

And when they dragged him closer and dropped him none-too-gently to his knees in front of her, she realised that he looked familiar.

Startled, she leaned forward for a better look. He was dressed only in black leather pants and a cream shirt with wide sleeves, the collar torn open at the front and offering a generous view of tanned skin. The last time she’d seen him, he’d been rather more dapper, his clothes cleaner and his outfit complete with a black vest and sword belt, but she knew him. Wild curly hair, broad shoulders, blue eyes blazing defiance at her – she knew him.

She’d been ready to kill whoever had crossed her on the spot, but this… this opened up so many more intriguing, not to mention useful, possibilities.

“Liam Jones,” she said, a smug smile tugging at her mouth. “You’ve gone down in the world, haven’t you?”

“ _Captain_ Liam Jones,” he corrected, clenching that square jaw of his and glaring up at her. “And technically, I’ve gone up. Six flights of stairs from the dungeons, if memory serves.”

“I’m surprised you can count that high,” Regina shot back. “Do you want to explain to me why you’re here?”

He raised one eyebrow, insufferably calm and casual given the circumstances. “I’m here because your men very rudely dragged me here.”

“Why were you in my dungeon?”

He shrugged, as best he was able to with both hands bound in front of him. “Because your men dragged me down _there_ first.”

“Why?”

“That’s what I kept asking them. They didn’t deign to answer me. Perhaps they’ll be more inclined to share if _you_ ask—”

“Enough!” Regina got to her feet. “You helped one of my prisoners escape.”

“Did I?”

“Don’t bother,” she told him. “I know. Is that why you’re such a long way from your ship? A rescue mission?”

“Nothing as thought-out as that,” Liam assured her, with a touch of bitterness. Interesting.

“Indeed?  You helped a suspected rebel escape from my dungeon. Are you branching out from piracy to open rebellion now?”

He glowered at her. “They’re not rebels. And I’m not a pirate.”

“Really.” She swept her eyes up and down his body, over the pirate boots, the kohl rimming his eyes, the earring dangling from one ear, the tattoo peeking out from under his torn shirt. “You’ve reformed and become an honest sailor?”

He scoffed a laugh. “Hardly.”

“I know. I’ve kept track, you know. Several charges of smuggling, two counts of murder, several counts of petty theft…” She raised her eyebrows. “And at least one count of piracy.”

He didn’t seem affected by the list of his crimes. “Desperate times.”

“Indeed. I guess we can add treason to the list now.”

His eyes flashed with anger. “Treason implies loyalty to betray. I have no allegiance to you.”

“You are in my castle. My kingdom. You fall under my rule. And I don’t take kindly to people who help my enemies.

Liam shrugged again. “They’re not _my_ enemies, your Majesty.”

 _Pirates_ , Regina thought savagely. “We had a deal.”

His eyes flashed. “As I recall, that deal was done. You covered my debt to Ursula, I helped you in turn. We’re even.”

“Not anymore,” she said coldly. “You broke the law. _My_ law. You’ll hang for it if I say so.”

She looked, but there was no flash of fear in his eyes, not a hint of worry. Either his unnaturally-long life had numbed him to the fear of death, or he was just good at covering it. “Curious, then, that you haven’t said so,” he said, still far calmer than the situation warranted. His refusal to be intimidated was just one of many things Regina had always found irritating about him, all the more so because of the way it made her stomach flip. “I can’t help but surmise that you want something.”

She smiled. “Oh, yes.” She got to her feet and stepped closer, forcing him to look up further in order to keep glaring at her. “I want something. A new deal. You’re going to work for me, Captain.”

“Is that so?” he said with a smirk.

“Well, that, or hang,” she said with a shrug, as if she didn’t much care either way. “Or maybe I’ll take your heart, and use it to track down those friends of yours, and they’ll hang, too.”

Liam swallowed. “What kind of work?”

“Whatever work I need done,” she said.

Regina could tell that she was finally getting through to him. “For how long?”

“Until I decide your debt’s been paid.”

His jaw clenched again, and his eyes flicked around the room, as if looking for a way out. There was none. “You’ll spare the others?”

“What’s this?” She feigned surprise. “Concern for others, Captain Jones?”

“I’d have thought you knew me better than that. They helped me, once. I repaid them.”

“You say they’re not rebels. Not in league with Snow White?”

His eyes were steady on hers. “No. In fact, it was she who robbed me. They helped me recover my property.”

Regina wasn’t quite sure whether she believed him, but the thought of others working against Snow White gave her a fierce satisfaction, and she could see no reason for Liam to lie.

And one way or another, letting a couple of petty criminals go in return for having Liam Jones once again at her beck and call was a bargain. Especially now, when she was so close to casting the curse, so close to getting what she wanted. She already had the huntsman, but Liam would serve her willingly, without any need to take his heart. He had no moral objections, no allegiance to anyone, just a steady, unyielding loyalty to his word.

Men like that were hard to find, and their loyalty even harder to secure. Regina was not one to toss aside a golden opportunity when it landed in her lap, annoying as it was to have to let the peasant woman go.

“I’ll spare the others,” she told him.

He nodded. “Then it would seem we have a deal once more.”

Regina favoured him with another smile, relishing the complete lack of insufferable smirk on his face. He looked better with the glowering frown drawing his eyebrows down and darkening his eyes, really. All the more so when his displeasure was her doing. “A wise choice, Captain.”

Liam glared, and she knew that this was not the final word in their struggle of wills. He was not a man to give up.

But she was a woman to win. And she’d enjoy every minute of it.


End file.
